Speaking from Rikers Island, where he is currently jailed on felony drug possession charges, Robert Vineberg offered condolences to Hoffman's family, but said that he's been made a "scapegoat" in the case as police seek answers after Hoffman's Feb. 2 death, the New York Post reports.

"He was my friend," said Vineberg, a jazz saxophonist and composer who has worked with Madonna, Wyclef Jean and the late Amy Winehouse. "I could have saved him. If I knew he was in town, I would've said 'Hey, let's make an AA meeting.' If I was with him, it wouldn't have happened. Not under my guard."

"He left me a voicemail in December saying, 'I'm clean,' " Vineberg added. "We'd text back and forth, 'Oh, I got one day on you!' 'No I've got one day on you.' "